Chad's opposition leader accuses the government of crackdown on dissent

Audio By Carbonatix

PARIS, France (AP) — A Chadian opposition leader on Friday accused his country's government of targeting opposition figures in a crackdown, and alleged that he was mistreated during eight months he was in custody in Chad.

Robert Gam, who heads Chad's Socialist Party Without Borders, was released from custody in June. He told reporters in Paris, where he is now receiving medical care, that Chadian authorities never told him why he was arrested.

Gam's arrest followed a security raid on the PSF party headquarters in February last year. The party said Yaya Dillo, its leader, was killed during the raid. However, authorities said Dillo was among several people who were killed when they attacked Chad's national security agency.

The Associated Press could not independently verify either account at the time. Chad’s government did not immediately respond to the claims made by Gam.

Gam described a harrowing experience during his time in custody and said he would sue his captors from France.

“Each night masked men came ... and took people away," he said. "You never knew if it was for release — or for execution."

Chadian authorities have arrested and detained several prominent figures in what activists say is a crackdown on human rights and dissent. Succès Masra, former prime minister and opposition leader, was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison, convicted of incitement to violence and complicity to murder.

The alleged crackdown, observers say, reflects the leadership style of the 41-year-old President Mahamat Déby, who came to power following the death of his father and Chad's longtime president, Idriss Déby. The long-delayed May 6 election came after three years of military rule with Mahmat Déby as the interim president.

The country is seen by the United States and France as one of the last remaining stable allies in western Africa following military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in recent years. The ruling juntas in all three nations have expelled French and American forces and turned to Russia for security assistance instead.

___

McMakin reported from Senegal. Associated Press journalist Oleg Cetinic in Paris contributed to this report.